


Working Title - Undercover

by ultragirlvfr750



Category: The Closer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 02:28:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3273371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultragirlvfr750/pseuds/ultragirlvfr750
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Congresswoman shows up from Brenda's past with a request that she help find a missing girl.  Deputy Chief Johnson and Captain Sharon Raydor are forced to go under cover - as a couple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Working Title - Undercover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [imustgofirst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imustgofirst/gifts).



> Written from a prompt from the 2nd Annual Month of Love. Prompt was: Sharon and Brenda go undercover. Bonus points if they have to pretend to be a couple.  
> This story decided it did not want to be a one shot but a multi-chapter fic. Will be updating with the subsequent chapters as soon as possible.

1.

Brenda rushed down the hall, her kitten heels echoing against the hard tile in a clattering staccato. Her ever-present black handbag was clamped to her side and jammed with files, one hand gripping an iced coffee-chocolate and whipped cream concoction, her cell phone in the other as she negotiated the nearly empty LAPD hallway. She rounded the corner just as the elevator doors were closing.

“Shoot,” she quickened her step and called out, “Yoo hoo….”

A hand shot around the heavy doors and they stuttered for a moment and then drew back.

Brenda slid inside, out of breath and with a frown etched across her forehead. She blew at a rogue blonde curl that had managed to escape out of her loose pony-tail, but it simply fell back into the same annoying place over her right eye, tickling the corner of her cheek.

“Thank you so much,” she said, her attention focused on dropping her cell phone into her purse and then smoothing the palm of her hand over her hair.

“Glad to be of assistance Chief,” the familiar measured voice caused Brenda’s stomach to clench. She let her hand fall from her her face and she turned toward her companion in the elevator.

“Captain Raydor. You’re the last person I’d expect to see here on a weekend,” she acknowledged. “As far as I’m aware my squad hasn’t been involved in any shootin’s. Nothin’ with even a whiff of use of force.”

I know this may come as a surprise to you Chief,” the Captain answered drily, “but Major Crimes isn’t the only Division in the LAPD.”

“Well of course it isn’t. I know that.”

Brenda crossed her arms over her chest, no easy feat given the size of her bag and the equally large, chilled coffee treat. She passed it back and forth between her hands, cursing the desire for sugar and chocolate that had made purchase it on a whim in the first place. As soon as she’d bought the drink she’d taken one sip and immediately planned on throwing it out. Now she was stuck juggling the slick cup back and forth, her fingers slowly freezing into tiny blocks of ice while the Captain looked on with disdain.

Why was it that Sharon Raydor’s silent disapproval always managed to make her feel awkward and utterly frivolous?

Unsurprisingly the Captain was turned out perfectly in a black pencil skirt that molded to her curves, with a white button up blouse peeking out from under a heavily tailored jacket so meticulously pressed the lines looked sharp enough to cut a potential suspect to ribbons. Her feet were clad in formidable black stilletos, and to Brenda’s chagrin she found herself sneaking sideways glances at her subordinate’s glossy chestnut hair while she fiddled with the riot of curls that were gradually sliding their way free of her hastily wrapped elastic.

The elevator doors had barely slid back before Brenda pressed forward and flounced headlong toward Pope’s office without so much as a backward glance.

“After you,” the Captain muttered and rolled her eyes.

Brenda tossed her iced coffee in the nearest garbage bin and smoothed her hands over her flowered skirt. The door to Pope’s office was closed and she cursed herself for being late. It wasn’t like Will to authorize overtime but he’d been entirely cagey with her about why her presence was needed at Parker Center at 9:00am on a Saturday. She hitched the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder. As she reached for the handle Pope’s office door opened and she stepped back, startled.

A blonde woman in a white suit almost severe as Captain Raydor’s stepped into the hall. Chief Pope, in his dress uniform, followed closely behind and Brenda took one look at his deferential demeanour and decided he was either answering to the blonde or sleeping with her. A closer look and Brenda decided it wasn’t the latter. Although she had strong features she was older than the women Will Pope usually fell for and Brenda thought she looked familiar.

“Chief Johnson,” Pope interceded, “Thank you for joining us. You remember Congresswoman Simmons.” It was less a question than it was a statement and Pope’s expression made it clear that even if the Deputy Chief didn’t remember it was her duty to play along.

Brenda stepped forward and the Congresswoman clasped her hand in an efficiently bone crushing hand-shake.

“My pleasure Congresswoman. If I’m rememberin’ correctly Priority Homicide investigated the death of your daughter,” she cocked her head to one side, “five years ago now?”

“You got justice for Emily,” at the mention of her daughter’s name the steel in the Congresswoman’s voice wavered only a little. “Your investigation was very….” she paused. “thorough.”

“I was always sorry you insisted on bein’ briefed before it was complete,” Brenda answered.

“No need to be sorry. It was my own doing and your persistence proved that Emily was, indeed, the wonderful woman I’d raised. I know you’ll be able to do the same with Julianna.”

“Julianna?”

“I was just about to brief Chief Johnson and…” he stopped mid sentence and from behind her Brenda heard the familiar, unwanted, sound of stilettos.

“Elise,” the Captain’s voice was full of genuine warmth and Brenda whirled around and watched in amazement as Sharon Raydor abandoned her usual tightly controlled composure and threw her arms around the Congresswoman in a warm hug, pulled back and kissed the woman on both cheeks.

Brenda violently bit the inside of her mouth in an effort to keep her jaw from falling open.

“Sharon,” the Congresswoman smiled and clasped the Captain’s hands between her own. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

“I only wish it was under better circumstances,” Captain Raydor replied.

“Just knowing you’ll be working on this eases my mind considerably.”

As the Congresswoman was talking Brenda sidled up to Pope.

“What in heaven’s name is she talkin’ about?” hissed the Deputy Chief.

Pope shot her a warning glance, his hands twitching ever so slightly in a mollifying gesture.

The Congresswoman dropped the Captain’s hands and darted a look at her watch.

“I’m sorry I really must go. I’ve got the Mayor in twenty minutes. Sharon, after this is over we must catch up properly.”

“I’d like that Elise,” the Captain smiled again and it took all Brenda’s self control not to roll her eyes. She was seriously starting to question her decision to sacrifice her Saturday. Whatever favour the Congresswoman was calling in from Pope, Brenda was fairly certain she didn’t want to participate.

“Thank you Chief Pope.”

“Congresswoman Simmons,” he nodded.

The Congresswoman turned toward Brenda, “Deputy Chief Johnson, I’ll expect a progress report at your earliest convenience.”

“I’ll just bet you will,” Brenda muttered under her breath and Pope discreetly elbowed her. “Bye now,” she finished, loud enough for the Congresswoman to hear her and then turned on her heel, marched into Pope’s office and slammed her purse down onto the nearest chair.

Captain Raydor followed at a much more sedate pace, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.

Will Pope squared his shoulders and sighed. He followed the Captain into his office, gently closed the door and braced himself for the onslaught of one of Brenda’s tirades.

“Will, what’d y’all drag me in here early on a Saturday morning for if I was just gonna be blindsided by a Congresswoman before I even know what’s happenin’, or have all the facts? Are we takin’ orders from the state now as well as the city? And if this is all so important why hasn’t my squad been notified?” Brenda drew in a quick breath and was about to continue when Pope picked up a file from his desk and shoved it at her.

“If you’d just stop for a moment, maybe I’d be able to fill everyone in,” he jerked his head toward the Captain who was standing demurely, hands in the pockets of her suit jacket, watching Brenda’s tantrum, her eyebrows raised.

“Looks like I’m the only one who needs fillin’ in,” Brenda replied and turned to stare at the brunette. “Apparently the Captain here is already on a first name basis with our newest boss.”

“Chief Johnson,” Pope’s voice became more strident, “I can promise you the Captain here is just as in the dark about her assignment as you are.”

Brenda pursed her lips but said nothing, waiting for Pope to go on.

“It’s true, Chief,” Captain Raydor’s voice was low and Brenda hated the way she was able to sound perfectly calm when Brenda herself didn’t seem to be able to control her temper.

“I’ve known Elise Simmons for years in a professional capacity as the LAPD Women’s Liaison. And we’ve been at a number of the same fundraisers.”

The Captain looked directly at Brenda, her eyes challenging the Deputy Chief to find fault with her explanation.

“She called me this morning to inform me that she was meeting with Chief Pope, and that a close friend of Emily, her deceased daughter, has gone missing. That was the extent of our conversation,” the Captain turned back to Pope.

“And quite frankly I’m at a loss as to how FID is to assist Major Crimes or Chief Johnson in this case.”

“Congresswoman Simmons, since her daughter was murdered, has been a huge advocate for policing, the advancement of women on the police force and has even gone so far as to be a private benefactor for our women’s initiative. As such she has maintained a close, and when I say close, I mean almost parental relationship with her daughter’s best friend Julianna Redmond.”

He let the name hang in the air.

“And?” Brenda’s voice was full of exasperation. “How long has this Julianna been missin’?”

“Julianna Redmond,” Sharon cut in, “in case you are unaware, Chief is a fourth year law student, activist, and with the Congresswoman’s endorsement has spoken tirelessly at high profile events, all the while spending any free time she has running a non-profit she started as an advocacy service for Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered teens. You’re telling me you’ve never heard of her?”

“I spend my time trackin’ down killers Cap’n,” Brenda shot back, “Advocacy services for teenagers isn’t exactly my forte.”

“Be that as it may,” Pope continued, “Julianna is a rising star in her own right and the added pressure from Congresswoman Simmons who has taken it upon herself to act as a kind of surrogate mother to her murdered daughter’s best friend, not only makes this a Major Crime, it makes it a priority case that we need to treat with swiftness and discretion.

“That explains the Saturday morning overtime but if findin’ this girl is so important why hasn’t the rest of Major Crimes been informed?”

“I’m not sure if you heard the part of that speech where I used the word discretion, Chief Johnson.”

“My squad is perfectly capable of bein’ discreet,” Brenda bristled, “when they need to be.”

“Firstly, the Redmond girl has only been missing for twenty four hours. Hardly enough time to justify allocating the resources of an entire division. Secondly, she went missing from a high end gay dance club and according to the officers that spoke with Congresswoman Simmons this isn’t the first time women have gone missing, in the same manner from this establishment.”

“Will, that establishes a pattern. All the more reason to get Major Crimes involved now,” Brenda argued.

“And alert the media to the fact that the LAPD has allowed this to slip through the cracks. That we’re only just doing something now because the woman in question has celebrity status?”

“You’re looking to avoid a scandal,” Captain Raydor interjected.

“Damn right we are,” Pope turned back to Brenda. “Despite the difficulties during the investigation of the death of her daughter, Congresswoman Simmons trusts you, Chief Johnson. In fact she  
asked that you personally take the lead on this….’ he searched for the words, “rather unorthodox investigation.”

“Will…”

“Let me finish,” he held up his hands. “She also made it clear that she specifically wanted Captain Raydor to, and I quote, ‘work alongside Chief Johnson until this matter is resolved in a satisfactory manner’.”

“But she’s in FID. She doesn’t even work for Major Crimes.” Brenda jerked her head in the Captain’s direction. “If you want me to go skulkin’ around the city, investigatin’ off the books I can get more done without havin’ to negotiate through some sort of Cagney and Lacey routine y’all cooked up.”

“That’s exactly the point. You’re not going to go off half cocked, ‘investigating off the books’,” Pope countered. “You and Captain Raydor are going undercover.”

“Undercover?!” Brenda’s voice went up an octave.

“Yes, Chief Johnson. Undercover. You do understand the meaning of the word, correct?” Pope’s voice stridently matched Brenda’s. “Undercover meaning, discreet. Undercover meaning undetectable and with the ability to blend in.”

A sinking feeling began to grown in the pit of Brenda’s stomach.

“The club where Julianna was last seen is upscale and discreet. We’re not just going to throw a couple of Mickey Mendoza’s in there and hope for the best. You and Captain Raydor will be working together, as a couple, and you will be exactly that,” he finished. “Upscale and discreet.”

Brenda snorted and beside her the Captain inhaled sharply.

“Excuse me, Chief Pope,” Captain Raydor interjected, “You want us,” she pointed between herself and Brenda, “to pretend to be together? Romantically?”

“That is the generally accepted definition of the word couple, Captain. Do you think you can handle that?”

“With all due respect, Sir, we don’t even like eachother.”

“At all,” Brenda chimed in.

“No one would believe it,” the Captain finished.

“Not unless we’re supposed to be on the brink of divorce,” Brenda stated sarcastically.

“It seems like neither of you have been paying attention so let me spell it out for you in a way that’s easy to understand. The Mayor has made it clear that he wants this to happen. He is meeting right now with the Congresswoman who also, by the way, wants this to happen. My job is to try to figure out how to keep my departments together and one of the ways that I do that is by categorically avoiding pissing off the Mayor, so I want this to happen.” Pope drew in a breath and continued, nearly apoplectic.

“You will go now and report to Requisitions where you will be handed the keys to what I’m told is a very lovely condominium where you will be staying for the foreseeable future. I would advise that afterward you go home, pack a bag and spend some time familiarizing yourself with this assignment before your presence this evening at Blush is required. Am I making myself clear.”

“Positively, Chief Pope,” Captain Raydor’s voice was dangerously low.

Brenda simply glared, hauled her purse over her shoulder and stalked out.

2.

Sharon caught up to the Deputy Chief at the elevators and had to suppress the urge to smile.

Brenda was hammering her index finger incessantly against the call button, her mouth in a thin line of disapproval.

“You are aware doing that won’t make the elevator come any faster?”

“Y’ think, Captain?” Brenda barked but she dropped her hand and instead fidgeted with the strap on her handbag.

“Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss the logistics of this assignment that Chief Pope has saddled us…..”

Brenda’s cell phone rang.

“Just a moment, Captain,” she fished it out of her bag, stared myopically at the screen and then clamped the phone to her ear.

“Hi Momma,” a pause, “I’m fine. Yes I know I didn’t talk to you last night,” Brenda held up her finger for the Captain to wait and then turned and walked a short way down the hall, the fingers of her free hand pulling at her ear. “Fritzi and I were not arguin’,” another pause. “Momma I’m workin’…..”

Sharon stared after the Chief, annoyed at the frivolity of the interruption but not altogether unhappy at its timing. A protracted discussion between Brenda and her mother gave Sharon a chance to organize her thoughts. More than that it bought her time to figure out how she was going to explain to the Chief her familiarity with the establishment they were investigating later that night. And the reason behind that familiarity.

Sharon exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of her nose. What had Elise been thinking? Sharon understood intellectually that the Congresswoman was probably terrified out of her mind of the possibility that she’d lost yet another child, and that she had reflexively reached out to the one high ranking woman in law enforcement with whom she was friendly. What she hadn’t taken into consideration was the fact that her actions put Sharon in the position where she would be forced to reveal details about her personal life. Details she would much rather keep private.  
In fact this entire ridiculous assignment forced Sharon into thinking about ideas and the feelings associated with those ideas that she’d so far managed to keep decently suppressed.

Brenda Leigh Johnson was hands down the most difficult, selfish and contrary person Sharon had ever had to deal with in her entire career. Unfortunately, as she watched the diminutive blonde struggle unsuccessfully with trying to extricate herself from the conversation with her mother, Sharon had to admit that she was also absolutely adorable.

Sharon sighed. She’d had crushes on straight women before; never someone quite as aggravating as Brenda Johnson, but it had happened. The solution was always the same. She exercised an iron-clad will over her feelings until the offending emotions passed. Inevitably they always abated and she could look forward to getting together with her circle of girlfriends over a large glass of chardonnay, laughing about the folly of pursuing straight women.

With Brenda it was different. The Captain had been at the helm of several FID investigations that intersected with the Chief and each time Sharon received the call informing her she would be heading into a 72 hour reporting period working in tandem with the head of Major Crimes she felt elation and dread in equal measure. It was becoming more and more difficult to deny her attraction and she compensated by being unwaveringly combative. At the end of a day of verbal sparring with the younger woman, Sharon found herself both exhausted and aroused, swearing to herself that she’d delegate Sergeant Elliot or any of the detectives at her disposal to deal with the investigation. Inevitably, she would get up the next morning and stomp down to Major Crimes with a reason to engage in an argument with Brenda and the whole miserable mess would start over again.

And now, not only was she going to be forced to reveal to Brenda that she frequented Blush as a patron on enough Saturday evenings that the bar staff would likely remember her as a regular, a fact that she definitely did not wish to divulge to the Chief, she also had to spend the next God-knew how many days pretending to be in a relationship with the woman.

Elise was going to owe her a huge bottle of top shelf bourbon when this was all over.

“You have to tell Daddy he needs to keep gettin’ his exercise,” Brenda’s drawl brought the Captain back to the present. “I know Momma,” Brenda nodded as if her mother was in the hall standing next to her. “I know. But I have to go, I’m workin’,” another pause. “I know it’s Saturday Momma. Crime doesn’t take a day off….”

Sharon couldn’t help herself, she rolled her eyes and Brenda flushed.

“You give Daddy a kiss for me,” more pausing, “I will. I will. Bye…”

Brenda shot the Captain a withering glance and dropped the phone back in her purse.

“Momma always calls on Saturday, makin’ sure I’m not workin’ too hard I guess.” Brenda said by way of explanation.

“I think It’s lovely your parents are so,” Sharon searched desperately for the right phrase, “involved in your life.”

“I’ll just bet you do,” Brenda retorted.

The elevator doors finally opened and both women stepped inside.

“Chief, there are some things about the assignment we should discuss,” Sharon ventured.

Brenda gave Sharon an unreadable look and finally nodded. She was chewing unconsciously on a piece of her hair that had escaped from her pony-tail and Sharon had to resist the urge to pull it out of the little blonde’s mouth.

“Given the fact that Pope has made it clear we’re essentially on our own and the unique nature of our workin’ relationship on this case,” she allowed the words to hang in the air, her eyes steady on the Captain’s. “I suggest we go over the file together and then make decisions based on,”

“Chief,” Sharon interrupted, “I’m already familiar with Blush and have a good working knowledge of the establishment and the staff so I was wondering….”

“That’s excellent Captain,” Brenda cut her off, “that should make our job gettin’ in there a lot easier,” she stopped and her brows furrowed in confusion.

“What was FID doin’ investigatin’ in a high end gay nightclub?”

“It wasn’t,” Sharon took a breath.

“Well then why on earth….” Brenda’s voice trailed off and her mouth formed moue of surprise. Sharon watched with barely veiled amusement as her revelation dawned on Brenda and she tried vainly to re-arrange her shocked features into a more casual expression.

“I’ve been a patron at Blush,” Sharon continued, “on more than one occasion.”

“I’m sure we can use that to our advantage,” was all Brenda managed and Sharon could see she was still trying to digest this new piece of information about the head of FID.

“Since I’m the one with the inside track I was thinking it would best if you followed my lead in this case.”

Brenda snorted.

“And that would be different than all the other cases you’ve tried to run rough-shod over?”

The elevator doors slid open and both women tried to step through at the same time. Sharon jumped backward and instinctively placed her hand in the small of the Chief’s back, propelling her into the hall. She could feel the younger woman’s muscles flex and for a moment her palm cupped the swell of Brenda’s hip before she pulled it away, fingertips tingling.

“Forgive me, Chief, but there is a girl’s life potentially at stake and I think we can agree that should be our priority, not a pissing match over who gets to be in charge.”

Brenda blinked at the Captain’s use of mild profanity. She stared at the brunette, her eyes unreadable.

“Obviously you’re the one with more….” Brenda grit her teeth, “experience in this area so it only makes sense that you should be callin’ the shots.”

“Congratulations Chief,” Sharon said, a smile barely twitching at the side of her mouth. “That can’t have been easy to say.”

“This whole day has been difficult,” she shot back, “And we’ll have to dispense with the titles.”

“Titles?” Sharon was confused.

“Well we can’t very well be runnin’ around callin’ one another ‘Captain’ and ‘Chief’ all night without raisin’ suspicion. Unless there’s somethin’ about this gay bar you’re not tellin’ me,” Brenda ‘s voice was serious but there was an impish sparkle in her chestnut eyes and Sharon realized that the other woman was playing with her.

“A moratorium on titles then,” Sharon turned to her superior, “How does Sharon and Brenda sound?”

“Like a bad Tuesday night sitcom,” Brenda groused.

“If you’d prefer I could just call you ‘honey’,” Sharon said sardonically.

“Don’t push your luck. I’ve got a gun in this purse somewhere.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?,” Sharon replied. “Now about tonight, we’re going to have to find you a suitable dress.”

“I’m hatin’ this already.”

But as they walked together, for the first time side by side, instead of one or the other fighting for the lead, the brunette couldn’t help but smile to herself. She was intimately familiar with the sound of the Chief’s exasperation and Sharon realized that Brenda wasn’t hating it. She wasn’t hating it at all.


End file.
